


First To Find Out

by MoonStarRain



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 12:11:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonStarRain/pseuds/MoonStarRain
Summary: Set after The Punisher Season 1, and after Matt has returned.The first person to find out Karen and Frank are spending time together.One shot for now. But may turn into more.





	First To Find Out

"I'm fine Matt... no really... you don't have to..." Karen had tried. But Matt, ever the gentleman, refused to let her walk home alone.

Rain pitter-pattered around them. Matt could feel how stiff Karen was. They walked arm in arm. And suddenly Karen was reminded of another time they had walked together. And a kiss. God that kiss. Uncomfortable. That's what this current feeling was. Her heart started pounding more sporadically the closer they got to her apartment. She stopped before crossing the last street and looked up at her building. She could see a light on.

"Are you expecting someone?" Matt sensed she was on edge.

"Umm... No. No... I just... it's late. You know... maybe I should just go back to the office? I have to be there in a couple hours anyway." Karen began to turn around the other way.

Matt grabbed hold of her arm gently and gave her that look. That look that said 'what are you not telling me?' He had sensed it. He zoned in on the noises surrounding them and heard something shuffling. But nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing he recognized.

"Karen are you in trouble? Is there... is there something you're not telling me?" Matt scanned the surroundings for any sign of danger. Karen's heart was pounding. Suddenly Matt heard a crash in the distance. 

"Stay here." In the blink of an eye he was across the street, running towards the side of the building and up on the fire escape before she could get words out.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath and ran towards the front entrance, her flats splashing in the water that had puddled in the street.

 

Matt slid though the window of Karen's bedroom. His senses were heightened. Someone was definitely there. But it was different. A record was playing and he could smell something. Was someone cooking? Suddenly Matt felt like an idiot. Karen had a houseguest. A boyfriend? Why hadn't she said anything? He could hear footsteps coming down her hallway. There was no where for him to go except to slip into the shadows of the closet. The footsteps went into the bathroom and he could hear cupboards opening and closing. The footsteps began again, back down the hallway. But they stopped. They slowly came back towards the room. But they were different now. Cautious. Methodical. He heard the quiet sound of the window being squeezed closed. Damnit. He hadn't shut the window completely. The footsteps had stopped now. Suddenly new footsteps overwhelmed his senses. Karen. He could hear her frantically running towards her door, keys jangling. The door swung open just as he heard a pistol being cocked.

"Karen stop!" Frank yelled from the hallway.

"Frank, wait! It's just Matt."

Frank? Did he just hear Karen say the name Frank? Frank Castle? As in The Punisher?

Suddenly Frank, in a hoodie, sweatpants, and bare feet walked out of the shadows of the hallway. 

"Shit." Frank scratched his head and set the gun down. "Come on out asshole."

Matt slowly walked out of the dark hallway, with his hands up.

"Jesus Matt he could have killed you!" Karen took the gun off the side table and put it in the drawer of her desk.

Frank walked back to the stove and grabbed the pot of boiling noodles with two hands and slowly poured it into the strainer in the sink.

Karen walked up beside him and began to apologize. "I'm sorry, he just..." 

Frank smiled and wiped his hands off with a towel and grinned. "Asshole's lucky you got here when you did. Or I woulda made an even bigger mess." His eyes gestured to the floor where red sauce was spilled and a large pile of rags lay. 

Karen rolled her eyes, smiled and gently squeezed his bicep. They just looked each other, caught up in the moment.

"Ahem" Matt broke the silence. "... I uh... I'll let you two..." Matt was making his way for the door.

"Aw come on red. You just gonna leave like that? Ain't even gonna stay and try my famous Puttanesca?" Frank smiled a real smile. He could tell Matt was completely caught off guard.

"Matt... at least let me make you a cup off coffee or something before you leave?" Karen piped up. She looked at Frank who was enjoying this just way too much. He turned around to get bowls and cups down from the cupboard.

Matt wanted to get the hell out of there. But he was also curious. And something told him to stay. A part of him wanted to be sure Karen was still safe. "Sure. Coffee and... yeah. Sure."  
Matt gave in and sat down at the table. 

He couldn't see them. But he could sense them. He could tell Frank knew every inch of Karen's kitchen. Exactly where to find every utensil. Every ingredient. How they effortlessly worked in tandem. He could hear the sound the fabric would make when Frank and Karen would brush up against each other, not by accident.  
No, definitely not by accident. 

Frank tested the sauce. "This right here. Mmmmm mmmm. Gotta try this." He turned from the stove and walked over to where Karen was grating fresh parmesan and held up a wooden spoonful of sauce to her lips. She shot him a coy-full look, flipped her hair out of her face and gently blew before delicately tasting a bit. They both grinned wildly. Another moment. It was hard to break away from these moments.

"Do you always cook dinner at 3AM or is this some sort of special occasion I'm interrupting?" Matt jested.

Frank took remaining amount left on the spoon and licked it clean with a loud smack. "Knew Karen had a long day. Didn't want her having to eat old take out when she got home." Matt was going to joke. Frank was not in the mood for this and was going to throw it right back at him. 

Matt let out a short laugh.

"Somethin funny, Mur-dock?" Frank glared at him over his shoulder as he spooned sauce over the noodles.

"This. It's just so... domestic?" Matt was still sensing the surroundings. He was realizing there were at least 5 guns hidden in spaces around the living room. Frank's jacket thrown on a chair. Boots at the door. An extra set of keys on the key ring. "So do you live here now? How long have you two..." Matt was still in shock and a bit confused but felt like he was owed answers because how long had Karen been hiding this? 

"No!" Karen let out the statement quickly, but she could immediately tell it didn't sound convincing. "Frank's got his own place. And we're not... we don't..."

Frank proceeded to cut off the conversation by suddenly placing a bowl in from of them. "Here. Eat up," he said. He couldn't meet Karen's eyes and she couldn't meet his. He knew they hadn't put any kind of label on this. But he wasn't going to be the one to just outright deny it.  
They all ate in silence for what seemed like forever. 

"This is good Frank. Might need to consider a career change," Matt laughed to himself. But it was still awkward silence and tension in the room.

Matt put his bowl down and Karen immediately picked it up to take it to the sink. "I got it." Frank said. 

Karen tried to brush him off "No it's fine..." 

Frank stood his ground and gave her a somber look. "I want to. Sit." He motioned his head to Matt. Karen nodded and walked back to the couch and sat back down. 

"So..." she shrugged her shoulders, unsure what else to say to Matt. Frank was scrubbing dishes and walking back and forth busying himself in the kitchen in the background.

"Well I guess you don't need me to protect you anymore." Matt smiled. 

"I don't need..." Karen was going to say she didn't need anyone to protect her. But that wasn't completely true. "We help each other. I trust him." She bent forward slightly to whisper so Frank wouldn't hear. "He needs this, ok? It's good for us. For both of us."

Matt understood. He really did. He nodded his head in agreement. Karen didn't need a babysitter. And she seemed happy. Hell they both seemed happy, which was strange. Whatever 'this' was, it was working for them. Matt suddenly felt completely out of place. "Well, I gotta go. I have trial in the morning and I know you have work." Matt stood up and Karen followed him to the door. 

"Night red." Frank called from the kitchen. 

Karen opened the door and Matt hugged her gently. "Goodnight. Sorry about, all this, it's just... its complicated, you know? I can't really explain it..." the words were escaping her.

"I'm just glad you're safe." Matt smiled. "And Frank..." 

Frank stopped what he was doing to listen.

"Take care of her." Matt let go and gave one last squeeze of Karen's hand and left. 

Karen shut the door behind him, clicking through all the locks and bolts to secure it closed.


End file.
